German economics minister refuses to rule out Greek euro exit

Germany's Economics Minister Philipp Roesler has declined to rule out debt-strapped Greece's withdrawal from the euro, in an interview published Monday, dpa reported.

Roesler told the daily Bild newspaper that Greece has no alternative but to press on with tough reforms to cut back its high deficit-and-debt levels.

"The Greeks can decide themselves: reform in the eurozone or don't reform and get out. There's no third way", said Roesler, who heads up the pro-business Free Democrats, the junior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition.

While the goal was to help countries to remain in 17-member eurozone, there could be no delays in reforms, Roesler told the newspaper.